Category Archives: Panama Canal

We had a wonderful time going on the Caribbean Princess ship to the Panama Canal. We went in the beginning of April for a 10 day vacation. We booked in February and got a better deal booking closer to the departure date. My wife invited a few of our friends to come. After my mugging at Candlestick Park, she felt there is security being with our friends.

This cruise goes into the Panama Canal and turns around to go back out. It does not go from the east to west as some other cruises do. One of our friends opted to not go on a tour off the ship when we arrived at the canal. Instead, she got up early at 6 am to watch as the ship entered into the canal. She watched for a few hours as the ship moved thru the canal.

The rest of our group took a tour of the old and new Panama Canal. Passengers can only get off the ship if a tour is purchased. This photograph was taken at a look out point to see the workings of the canal. It was fun to watch our ship being towed by a small tug boat. It is a reminder how the small things in life support the big things.

Taking pictures during a tour on a vacation can be a challenge to compete for a spot with other tourists and time constraints. Fortunately, we did not have any time constraints at this lookout point. We could not return to the ship until it was docked as it slowly traveled thru the canal to exit. So there was a lot of time to enjoy the ship traveling thru the canal.

It was a challenge to get a good position to take the ship and to push my way thru the other tourists. Position is everything for getting a good photograph. There were lots of excited visitors at this lookout point watching this cruise ship makes its way thru the canal.

How can you get a good position? Look at the different spots and use your camera to view the prospects of the picture. Realize there is more than one ideal spot. Be flexible and creative. Then move quickly or wait around for the people to move to get your spot. Patience and fast maneuvering is the key. Don’t get upset as I did when I lost a spot. Good photography is being flexible and shooting fast from various spots.

I’ll be sharing more tips to get good photos that you do not need to “touch up”. Also I will be sharing lessons learned from our vacation.